The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1887-10-01
GIFTS TO THE PEOPLE.
This Years sequests and the Tend
ency of the Times towards cener-
osity.
[st. Louis Globe Democrat. ]


A list OF the benefactions for the public
good that have been published in the leading
newspapers during the last three months
show that within this period alone the people
have fallen heir to more than $10,0O0,00O.
Of course, this is by no means a complete list,
for 1t includes only the most noteworthy be-
quests; and the aggregate of the many small
benefactions that are made every month,
perhaps every day, to hospitals and libraries
and schools in small towns is very large.
But more than 100000 have been given
for the public good in sufficiently large
quantities to be reported to the larger news
papers. This is, perhaps, the largest aggre-
gate ever given in the United States for these
purposes in the same period of time. AL
though the number of rich men is constantly
increasing, there is evidence also of grow
ing habit of giving money for the public ben
efit-a habit very well worth cultivating.
New England takes the lead Of all the sec
lions of the country in the list of donations.
for the very excellent reason that it has
larger accumulated capital and larger pro-
portion of rich men than any other section,
and the South comes last because it has fewer
fortunes If a comparison could be made
which should show the generosity of each
section, New England, the Middle States. the
Western States, the South and the Pacific
slope, there is reason to believe that one
section would make as good showing as
another: for the volume of public bequests
is rapidly increasing in them all. In the list
that has been kept of public benefactions
few are reported from the South, but that is
because, as rule, they are smaller than the
gifts made in other parts of the country,
Some Of the benefactions of princely mag
nitude are Jonas g. Clark's gift of an addI
ti0nal 81, 000, 900 to Clark University, at Wor-
cester, Mass. 100000 to Rochester Univer-
sity, $4,000 of which are to establish a chair
library at New Britain, Conn, by G. ID. En-
win; the more than usually large donations To
such old institutions as Harvard and Yale:
an additional $4,000 to Buchtel College
Akron, o., by the Hon: John r. Buchtel,
making more than 800, 600 in all Mr.. w. C'
DePauw's additional gift Of 100000 to De-
Paw University more than 1000, 900 given
by EnOch Pratt, Of Baltimore, for free pub-
lie library Though this, like the great Tilden
gift of 100000 for the same purpose in
New York, was given last year. DIR. nj n
Stanford's gift Of $50 acres of land for n
park i'll the city of Louisville; within five
years 100000 has been given for art and
educational purposes in Cincinnati; the mn
niicent establishment by Mrs. Newcomh of
a college for young women at New Orleans
and every city as you 60 West has had its r.,
cent benefeiaries. When the Pacific sIone
was reached the commanding gift by Senator
Stanford to the university that bears his
name, and Mr.. Sutro's great statue of Liber-
ty to be erected in San Francisco equal IL
they do not eclipse, similar gifts anywhere
else.
But very small proportion of even the
great recent public benefactions would in
clude too many to enumerate. More inter-
esting than the number or amount of them